Accountability and Support

“Two are better than one: They get a good wage for their toil. If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help. So also, if two sleep together, they keep each other warm. How can one alone keep warm? Where one alone may be overcome, two together can resist. A three-ply cord is not easily broken.”– Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Monthly Focus on Action

“I will make you fishers of men.”M1. What apostolic success did the Lord accomplish through me during the past 30 days to extend the kingdom? In my family? In my work? In my environment?M2. With what apostolic failure did the Lord wish to test me during the past 30 days? In my family? In my work? In my environment?M3. How did I fulfill last month’s plan?M4. What do I need to work on?

Discussion Questions for January 27, 2019Third Sunday of Ordinary Time

First Reading

Nehemiah 8:2-4a, 5-6, 8-10

Ezra the priest brought the law before the assembly,which consisted of men, women,and those children old enough to understand.Standing at one end of the open place that was before the Water Gate,he read out of the book from daybreak till midday,in the presence of the men, the women,and those children old enough to understand;and all the people listened attentively to the book of the law.Ezra the scribe stood on a wooden platform that had been made for the occasion.He opened the scrollso that all the people might see it— for he was standing higher up than any of the people —;and, as he opened it, all the people rose.Ezra blessed the LORD, the great God,and all the people, their hands raised high, answered, “Amen, amen!”Then they bowed down and prostrated themselves before the LORD,their faces to the ground.Ezra read plainly from the book of the law of God,interpreting it so that all could understand what was read.Then Nehemiah, that is, His Excellency, and Ezra the priest-scribeand the Levites who were instructing the peoplesaid to all the people:“Today is holy to the LORD your God.Do not be sad, and do not weep”—for all the people were weeping as they heard the words of the law.He said further: “Go, eat rich foods and drink sweet drinks,and allot portions to those who had nothing prepared;for today is holy to our LORD.Do not be saddened this day,for rejoicing in the LORD must be your strength!”

First Reading Discussion Questions

F1. Why does Ezra say “today” is holy? What is significant about “today” for Jesus? Do you live in the past or the future? What is the only time you have for sure? What happens to “now” if you spend all your time looking backward or forward?

F2. Each of the readings today is similar in that someone is proclaiming God's word to an asssembly (Paul was writing to the Corinthians who were fighting over rank and status). Do you think everything we would ever know was stated during Jesus’ time or does the Holy Spirit give us new insights as we need them?

Second Reading

1 Corinthians 12:12-30

Brothers and sisters:As a body is one though it has many parts,and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,so also Christ.For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.

Now the body is not a single part, but many.If a foot should say,“Because I am not a hand I do not belong to the body,”it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.Or if an ear should say,“Because I am not an eye I do not belong to the body,”it does not for this reason belong any less to the body.If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be?If the whole body were hearing, where would the sense of smell be?But as it is, God placed the parts,each one of them, in the body as he intended.If they were all one part, where would the body be?But as it is, there are many parts, yet one body.The eye cannot say to the hand, “I do not need you,”nor again the head to the feet, “I do not need you.”Indeed, the parts of the body that seem to be weakerare all the more necessary,and those parts of the body that we consider less honorablewe surround with greater honor,and our less presentable parts are treated with greater propriety,whereas our more presentable parts do not need this.But God has so constructed the bodyas to give greater honor to a part that is without it,so that there may be no division in the body,but that the parts may have the same concern for one another.If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it;if one part is honored, all the parts share its joy.

Now you are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.Some people God has designated in the churchto be, first, apostles; second, prophets; third, teachers;then, mighty deeds;then gifts of healing, assistance, administration,and varieties of tongues.Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers?Do all work mighty deeds? Do all have gifts of healing?Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?

Or

1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 27

Brothers and sisters:As a body is one though it has many parts,and all the parts of the body, though many, are one body,so also Christ.For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,whether Jews or Greeks, slaves or free persons,and we were all given to drink of one Spirit.Now the body is not a single part, but many.You are Christ’s body, and individually parts of it.

Second Reading Discussion Questions

S1. Some people's gift is to diffuse tension in a meeting. Is this kind of gift more or less important than administering the parish community or diocese? What is your gift to the community?

S2. If you had your choice of gifts which ones would you choose? Why? If you have a gift and you never use it, what will happen to it? Please name some of your gifts.

Gospel

Luke 1:1-4; 4:14-21

Since many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the eventsthat have been fulfilled among us,just as those who were eyewitnesses from the beginningand ministers of the word have handed them down to us,I too have decided,after investigating everything accurately anew,to write it down in an orderly sequence for you,most excellent Theophilus, so that you may realize the certainty of the teachingsyou have received.

Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,and news of him spread throughout the whole region.He taught in their synagogues and was praised by all.

He came to Nazareth, where he had grown up,and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day.He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah.He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captivesand recovery of sight to the blind,to let the oppressed go free,and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down,and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him.He said to them,“Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Gospel Discussion Questions

G1. Jesus went to Nazareth, his hometown. People there thought of him as Mary and Joseph’s son. Suddenly he claims to be the Messiah. What would your reaction have been to such a declaration?

G2. Jesus said he had been “anointed to bring glad tidings to the poor, … liberty to captives, … sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free. … ” Pope Francis names some of today's captives and oppressed in Evangelii Gaudium. What can you do to bring liberty, or make life a little easier for today's captives and oppessed?

It is essential to draw near to new forms of poverty and vulnerability, in which we are called to recognize the suffering Christ, even if this appears to bring us no tangible and immediate benefits. I think of the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned, and many others. Migrants present a particular challenge for me, since I am the pastor of a Church without frontiers, a Church which considers herself mother to all. …How I wish that all of us would hear God’s cry: “Where is your brother?” (Gen 4:9). Where is your brother or sister who is enslaved? Where is the brother and sister whom you are killing each day in clandestine warehouses, in rings of prostitution, in children used for begging, in exploiting undocumented labor? Let us not look the other way.

Suggested Strategies for Managing the Clock

For those with smaller groups or those who have the luxury of enough allotted time, it is suggested that the group cover each question from the monthly focus through the Gospel discussion questions

For those with larger groups or don't have the luxury of operating on God's Time, it is suggested that the group cover the monthly focus question and then feel free to skip around and attempt to answer only a few questions - whether that’s just the gospel, or the second reading and gospel, etc.

MISSION To enable individuals to grow in their faith, deepen their commitment to and personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and then be a resource for them as they share that commitment with their parishes, dioceses and the world!